The poem, "The Odyssey,"" occurs during the ten years after the Trojan War. This story is about Odysseus' ten year struggle to return to Ithaca, his hometown. His journey from Troy to Ithaca should have only taken a matter of weeks, but Poseidon, the god of the sea, is angry at Odysseus for taking credit for brilliant creation of the Trojan horse; and then boasting about it. Odysseus encounters many roadblocks, like facing many creatures and having to deal with his greedy and untrusting crew. These all delay Odysseus' arrival to Ithaca. Throughout this epic poem, Odysseus' main goal is to get home. Another aspect standing in the way of Odysseus and getting home is his hubris. It is evident that from the beginning of the epic to the end, Odysseus has lost his hubris. .
In the beginning of this epic poem, Odysseus wasn't very caring for his crew. But when he ended up in the Land of the Dead, he felt remorse for all of his men that he didn't give the proper burial to. There, Odysseus also encounters his mother, who commits suicide when he doesn't arrive home. "Seeing this ghost I grieved, but held her off, through pang on pang of tears"" (Fitzgerald 617-618). Experiencing this, Odysseus comes to terms with death, and that he can't escape it. In addition to seeing his mother and one of his fellow crewmates, Odysseus also sees Tiresias, who tells Odysseus his fate. "I see destruction for your ship and crew. Though you survive alone under strange sail shall you come home, to find your own house filled with trouble: insolent men eating your livestock as they court your lady"" (Fitzgerald 645-650). To illustrate, Tiresias foretells Odysseus' destiny that he will end up returning to Ithaca alone and under foreign sail, and his house will be full of men eating his cattle and trying to marry his wife. This whole piece of the story changes Odysseus. Upon arriving at the Land of the Dead, Odysseus doesn't show a lot of care for his crew and he has a lot of hubris.
